Truman's Spiritual Input

One place in which Truman inserted his own style and where his understated eloquence did appear was in his use of spiritual and moral language. Born in Missouri, Truman was raised in the Bible-Belt as a faitful Southern Baptist. Elsey, one of Truman's speechwriters, commented that this was an area where Truman "led and the staff followed. The staff did not deliberately compose phrases or paragraphs of this sort, and inject them. This was very much a part of President Truman's own personal belief and feeling."

If the staff didn't take the initiative to include such references, Truman often took the liberty to include them himself to the final drafts. You can see in many of his speeches the strong reference to his faith in God. One speech that was noted for that was his inaural address. Here is a link that focuses on some of these references in his inaugural address. Here is a link to a list of quotes from Truman speeches which place an emphasis on the great importance faith in God played in Truman's life and how he ran the country.